Defending Australian Open champ causes a stir on opening night of the tournament – but

The defending champion returned to the Rod Laver Arena with a spring in her step on Sunday night after she claimed a 6-3 6-2 victory against Sloane Stephens in the first round of the Australian Open.

Sabalenka is gunning for her third Australian Open in Melbourne and could become the fourth woman in the Open Era to win the title three times in a row.

But in rather hilarious scenes, Sabalenka began to dance for fans inside the Rod Laver Arena during her post-match review upon the request of commentator Jelena Dokic, who joined in on the dance!

Celebs have flocked from far and wide on day one of the Australian Open to catch a glimpse of their favourite tennis stars in action.

Aussie actress Rebel Wilson appeared to join up with the tennis set on Sunday afternoon and was pictured watching on from Rod Laver Arena.

The Pitch Perfect star dazzled in a pink dress and cheered Aryna Sabalenka on as she stepped out onto the court ahead of the defending champion’s first-round clash against Sloane Stephens.

Wilson had last week spoken on how her Hollywood home had miraculously escaped the devastating LA wildfires.

Another set point goes begging for the German, but again he can’t break Pouille who has remarkably saved five of the six breaks he’s faced.

Despite that Zverev, with his foot firmly on the pedal, takes the second set 6-4 serving out the final game to love.

Many are backing the German to reach the finals this year, with the world No 2 winning the ATP1000 titles in Paris and Rome, while also being beaten in the final of the French Open.

Ahead of the tournament, he told reporters:

Yeah, I mean, look, I think everybody knows what I’m chasing.

Everybody knows what my goal and my dreams are, right? It’s to win. No. 2 in the world, going into a Grand Slam as the world No. 2, you have to have the mindset of, I want to win the tournament.

That’s how my mindset is. I definitely want to play my best tennis. I definitely want to, yeah, go as far and hopefully win the tournament.

While Zverev is leading the charge here, the Frenchman should be commended for his resilience.

His reaction times are seriously impressive, with Pouille saving yet another two break points to fend off Zverev’s advances.

He did so by playing a cute cross-court shot just over the middle of the net, weighing the ball perfectly.

Zverev is in command of this match – but it’s not all one-way traffic…

Nick Kyrgios is set to return to play at the Australian Open on Monday afternoon as he takes on British star Jacob Fearnley.

But doubt has been cast over the Aussie star’s fitness in the past week, with the 29-year-old revealing that he had suffered a grade one abdomen strain following the Brisbane International.

Kyrgios, though, appeared optimistic over his chances of returning to play at the Australian Open this week, having previously stated it would be a ‘miracle’ if he made it back to play at his home slam following his brutal wrist injury.

Having been away from tennis for nearly two years now, the Aussie believes that tennis has been a worse-off place without him, suggesting the sport had gotten ‘mundane’ without him.

And he’s asked the same question as before to a different audience member: ‘How many women’s singles Grand Slams did Ash Barty win?’

While one audience member earlier on in the evening sent the Rod Laver arena into meltdown after being adamant that it was ‘one’, this time the fan gets the answer right, shouting: ‘Three!’

The gentleman sends the crowd into hysterics and wins himself a night’s stay in a hotel too!

Meanwhile, night one at the Australian Open never ceases to disappoint, how’s this for a picture…

Lucas Pouille is putting up a huge fight here against the World No 2.

At 3-5 the Frenchman saved three set points holding off against his German opponent, who had dragged him left and right across the court.

He’d save another set point against Zverev’s serve, but it was in vein with the Frenchman ultimately going down 6-4 to concede the first set.

Novak Djokovic gets his tournament underway on Monday afternoon against US star Nishesh Basavareddy.

It’s already been an interesting week for the 24-time Grand Slam champion who suggested earlier this week he was poisoned in 2022.

Djokovic, meanwhile, has revealed a new secret weapon he’s been using to help him stay fit and healthy but it has raised eyebrows among some fans…

The German has started a little shakily in this match, hitting six unforced errors, which is rather uncharacteristic of his game.

Yet, the mistakes haven’t phased him, with the world No 2 outclassing Pouille in the fifth game to seal the first break of the match.

The 27-year-old responded by holding serve to go 4-3 up.

Meanwhile, fans inside Rod Laver are all going mad for the spider camera which keeps floating down from the roof!

Zverev hits back immediately on his own serve and now it’s 1-1!

This is going to be an epic clash with Pouill just pushing the German around the court, but Zverev replies brilliantly with a brilliant shot to the tramline, forcing the Frenchman to put his ball out of play to go 15-love down.

Game three goes to deuce! But Zverev can’t take the break off his opponent, conceding the advantage by putting a shot into the net, before sending another over the baseline to concede the game.

A great start from the Frenchman!

He serves out to love in the opening game of this huge tie against Alexander Zverev!

It’s getting rather cool here inside Rod Laver, but the skies have cleared and the roof is open again after the earlier deluge!

Andy Murray admitted his surprise when Novak Djokovic had initially called him to ask if he’d like to become his coach.

He revealed last week that he had given a funny response to the 24-time slam winner, stating: ‘I’m going to have to ask my wife.’

The 37-year-old still looked in great shape out on the Rod Laver Arena last week, but despite McEnroe’s comments, it is very unlikely Murray will make a comeback.

In fact, Murray this week has spoken of his dedication and drive to try and help the Serbian become ‘the greatest sportsman ever’.

‘Novak has in the last few years cemented himself as the best tennis player of all time with the records he’s achieved,’ said the Scot.

‘These next couple of years, if he can go out as a 38, 39-year-old and win more slams, and beat Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in big matches, he’s got a claim to be the best athlete of all time and that’s exciting for me and his team to be part of.’

Right, we’ve got a huge match-up coming your way now, with Alexander Zverev taking on Lucas Pouille on Rod Laver now!

Stay with us as we’ll be bringing you all the latest news updates and action live from Melbourne Park!

It’s a long road ahead, but she certainly played brilliantly today.

Can she make it a hat-trick of wins at the Australian Open?

Defending Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka is through to the second round of the tournament after she bested former US Open Champion Sloane Stephens 6-3 6-2 at the Rod Laver Arena.

Sabalenka was dominant throughout, pushing Stephens left and right before dispatching 20 winners to her opponent’s nine.

The Belarusian will be disappointed with how many unforced errors she conceded, making 21 to Stephen’s 16.

Despite that, it was a dominant showing from the 2024 Australian Open champion, who even danced for the fans after the match!

She’ll now face Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in the second round.

Chris Judd and Bec Judd were also spotted at the Australian Open on Sunday evening.

The former Carlton star and his partner Bec posed for pictures during a hospitality event before the pair were spotted sitting courtside at the Rod Laver Arena as Aryna Sabalenka took on Sloane Stephens.

The pair were joined by Nadia Bartel and her partner Peter Dugmore for a glamorous evening at the Piper-Hidsieck Australian Open event.

A tough break for Kartal! She mustered a huge comeback but Bouzas Maneiro, who is ranked 52nd in the world just outmuscled her at the end of that clash.

Kartal saved a match point in the second set before pushing her opponent right to the wire.

Kartal would get off to a better start in the tiebreak but lost on her own serve at 4-2, a move that would be costly.

Bouzas Maneiro would swing the tide back on her English opponent, breaking her again 5-5 up before going on to win 7-5.

It was, though, an admirable and resilient performance from the Brit, who is ranked 87th in the world.

Sonny Kartal has found her rhythm! She’s saved a match point before going 5-5 against Jessica Bouzas Maneiro and is now tied at 6-6!

We’ll go to a tiebreak and again Kartal, riding on confidence, gets off to a flying start, breaking her Spanish opponent twice to take a 3-2 lead.

Could Andy Murray be set to return to tennis? John McEnroe certainly seems to think so! Speaking to Discovery+ ahead of the opening day of the Australian Open, the seven-time Grand Slam winner dropped his take on what the future has in store for Murray.

‘The coaching situation between Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic, it’s fun but it’s got to be one of the craziest things I’ve ever heard,’ McEnroe said.

‘I remember being in Australia and hearing that Andy Murray was being coached by Ivan Lendl, my great rival and nemesis from way back when, and I thought about it and said: “Oh my God, this is going to work!”

‘But there’s a big age gap. There’s a one-week age gap between Novak and Andy and he just stopped playing.

‘My theory is, Andy’s going to coach Novak for the next couple of months, and then he’s going to find out everything he needs to know about how to beat Djokovic and then he’s coming back!’

Murray was notably beaten by Djokovic at this tournament on four separate occasions.

On Thursday, the pair took to the court for a doubles exhibition match at Rod Laver, with Murray seeming to hit out at Djokovic for his dominance against the former British No 1 for so many years.

‘Yeah, I played here quite a few times, could never quite get it over the line,’ Murray joked.

‘This man [nodding to Djokovic] is single-handedly responsible for that.

‘I’m now here to try and sabotage his chances of winning another one,’ Murray joked.

Watch every moment of the Australian Open live and exclusive on discovery+

Meanwhile, over on Court 5, Sonny Kartal is now 3-4 down against Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in the second set after the British youngster lost the opening set 6-1.

But the 23-year-old is fighting hard to claw her way back into this one and has just secured a big break against her opponent!

Kartal’s celebrations are short lived, though, as Bouzas Maneiro hits back with a break of her own.

Sabalenka makes it 4-0 with another break!

Despite Stephens’ efforts, she was unlucky to concede that game, having taken advantage herself, before Sabalenka wrestled the point off her.

The world No 1 then showcased her power to fire a booming forehand at Stephens, who struck the ball straight into the net.

Aryna Sabalenka is absolutely flying right now.

The World No 1 has gone 3-0 already and is dominating her opponent, Stephens, who has struggled to cope with the Belarusian’s pace.

She now has somehow managed to wrestle another break point off Stephens, who strikes a forehand long over the baseline to give Sabalenka advantage in the fourth game.

Can the Belarusian go 4-0 up?

A difficult start for the 23-year-old Brit who has gone 1-0 down to Bouzas Maneiro.

Kartal was agonisingly broken three times in that opening set by her opponent ultimately suffering a 6-1 defeat in the first set.

Aryna Sabalenka is standing in the tunnel at the Rod Laver Arena and is beaming with excitement ahead of her first-round clash against Sloane Stephens.

Sabalenka will begin her Australian Open defence this summer with a huge match-up against the 2017 US Open champion who has never beaten Sabalenka during their four previous meetings.

Today’s winner will face either Sonay Kartal or Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in the next round, with Kartal now having gone down 5-1 against her Spanish opponent.

More good news as the roof on Rod Laver is now open again!

So with the rain now gone players are making their way back to the outdoor courts, with Great Britain’s Sonay Kartal currently in action against against Bouzas Maneiro from Spain.

Kartal, who announced herself at Wimbledon last year, is currently 3-1 down in the first set, with the Londoner being broken to love in the third game of the match.

Kartal impressed at Wimbledon last summer, with the British star being knocked out by Coco Gauff in the third round of the All England Championships.

Carlos Alcaraz is looking to win his first Australian Open and complete the career Grand Slam having picked up titles at both Wimbledon and the French Open in 2024.

He was in great spirits yesterday as he arrived for a practice session, holding doors open for those working at the Australian Open and high-fiving fans lining the corridors around the player’s locker room with a big grin on his face.

The Scottish star was handed a blockbuster first-round draw against Nick Kyrgios earlier this week, with the British star admitting his excitement over the encounter.

‘It was a bit of anxiety, for sure,’ he said of his reaction to the draw. ‘It’s not the kind of match you want to see in Australia. I know the crowd’s going to be against me.

‘There was a lot of excitement because it’s not a common match, but also a bit of nervousness.

‘The best thing I can do is enjoy it and embrace it. I’m still pretty early in my career. To have an opportunity and an experience like this is really cool.’

While he is relishing the challenge of playing Kyrgios on the Aussie’s home soil, it will be a huge test for the youngster, who is ranked 86th in the world.

Speaking to AAP on Sunday, Fearnley revealed why he has opted to delete his Instagram account ahead of his crunch first-round match.

Back to the tennis now and we’re sure to have a very busy schedule tomorrow with games being postponed today due to the rain, with British stars Jack Draper, Sonay Kartal, Katie Boulter and Cam Norrie all set to get their tournaments underway over the next few days.

Draper was out on court this morning and just about managed to get a full practice session in before the rains started pouring down on Melbourne Park.

The British No 1 looked in great form ahead of his first-round clash against Mariano Navone tomorrow afternoon.

Elsewhere, Sonay Kartal had been scheduled to play on Court 5 this afternoon against Jessica Bouzas Maneiro but her match has been postponed by the rain.

Jodie Burrage is set to take on France’s Leolia Jeanjean on Monday morning. While Boutler, Norrie and Emma Raducanu will all play later on Tuesday afternoon.

Melbourne boasts some of the greatest stadiums in the world and I have been so impressed by the infrastructure around its sports precinct.

The media balcony offers a fantastic view of the Melbourne Cricket Ground which is only a 500m walk away from the Rod Laver arena.

After Australia secured a huge series victory against India this summer Ben Stokes’ men will arrive here later this year for the 2025 Ashes series.

But can England win it back?

Good morning to those in the UK who are just joining us!

To recap, it’s been very wet, miserable and stormy in Melbourne today with a flash storm hitting the city this afternoon, suspending play.

But there is good news! After six hours of downpours, the rain has now stopped and the clouds are opening. I’ve just popped out onto the media balcony to grab a coffee and fans are currently flooding the concourses enjoying all the bars and cafes in Melbourne Park.

Play looks like it’s set to get underway on some of the outdoor courts, with fans piling into Court 3 to watch Omar Jasika and Hugo Gaston resume their match, with the French star having taken the first set 6-2.

Here’s a view from the balcony at the media centre…

I’ve been surprised to see some of the rather bizarre and unique items on sale in the Australian Open shop this week.

The Australian Open might just be giving Augusta National a run for its money this year, after we spotted giant gnomes on sale at the Masters last year.

But Tennis Australia are also pushing the boat out when it comes to some of the weird and unique items you can pick up in the Australian Open superstores over the coming fortnight.

If you’re a pet lover, you might be pleased to know that Australian Open-themed dog collars are now on sale in the super store.

Fancy yourself as a bit of a chef? Tennis Australia have some cool pieces of merch for you too – including their AO branded oven gloves and serving spoons!

Check out our run down of some of the unique, interesting and most expensive items now on sale at Melbourne Park!

While rain has wreaked havoc today in Melbourne we’ve still had plenty of tennis to enjoy!

• World No 6 Casper Ruud has advanced to the second round of the men’s singles following a gruelling match against Jaume Munar, with the Norwegian winning 3-2.
• French star Artur Fils claimed a 3-1 victory against Otto Virtanen from Finland.
• Mirra Andreeva claimed a 2-0 victory against Marie Bouzkova.
• Another tournament favourite, Qinwen Zheng showed her brilliance in the first set of her clash against Anca Alexia Todoni to wrestle the match off her Romanian opponent and seal a 2-0 victory.
• While Donna Vekic also sealed a 2-0 victory against France’s Diane Parry.

Kei Nishikori has delivered perhaps the moment of the day so far to come back and beat qualifier Thiago Monteiro during a five-set thriller at the John Cain Arena.

After the Brazilian took a commanding two-set lead in the match, the former world No 5 switched up a gear, saving two match points to avoid a straight sets loss in the third, before showcasing his impressive power to close out the game.

At first, it had looked like Nishikori could be heading out of the Australian Open in the first round, but the Japanese star instead has reached the second round of the tournament for the 10th time in his career with a superb 4-6 6-7 7-5 6-2 6-3 victory.

It comes after the former world No 5 returned to the tennis court last season to contest at his first two Grand Slams since the 2021 season after suffering a shoulder injury at Wimbledon.

Nishikori will come up against another tough opponent next, though, with the Japanese star set to play the winner of Tommy Paul and Christopher O’Connell’s huge matchup.

Here’s the moment he clinched a berth in the second round of the tournament…

A lot of fans around Melbourne Park today have told me that they were a little perplexed and a little underwhelmed by the scheduling for today’s play.

There has been a lack of big names on the scheduling at Melbourne Park today.

In fact, the first round is set to spread over the course of the next three days, with home favourite Alex de Minaur getting his tournament underway on Tuesday.

I’m hearing that play is set to be suspended on the outdoor courts until 6pm (AEDT)/ 7am (GMT).

But looking out the window here at the media centre, it’s looking very unlikely that we’ll have any more play on the outdoor courts this afternoon as the rain continues to fall around Melbourne Park.

Right! Enough about the weather! There’s still plenty of action to come with the roof now shut on the John Cain Arena, Margaret Court Arena and the Rod Laver Arena.

Right now a huge tussle between two big hitters is taking place on Rod Laver, with Casper Ruud squaring off against Jaume Munar.

Ruud had taken a 2-1 lead in the match with Munar pulling back the fourth set 6-2 to pull back level with the Norwegian at 2-2.

After this match Australian Open defending champion Aryna Sabalenka will follow, as she takes on former Grand Slam winner Sloane Stephens in a hugely exciting opening round matchup.

We’re also expecting tonight to be a late one too, with Alexander Zverev set to take on Lucas Pouille after Sabalenka and Stephens have squared off on Rod Laver

Over on the John Cain Aren, Paula Badosa goes up against Xinyu Wang before Ugo Humbert gets his Australian Open campaign off to a start, with the No 14 seed taking on Matteo Gigante.

And on the Margaret Court Arena, Aussie star Daria Saville gets her tournament underway against Anna Blinkova.

All eyes will then turn to tomorrow, with some big names in action including Novak Djokovic, Coco Gauff and Nick Kyrgios.

The flash storm has caused some havoc with today’s schedulling with several matches, including British star Sonay Kartal’s first-round clash, being cancelled.

But that isn’t dampening the spirits of fans around the tennis precinct who have all been lapping up the atmosphere around Melbourne Park sporting plastic rain macs!

What’s truly bizarre about the weather is that over the past week in Melbourne we’ve had some balmy conditions, with temperatures topping 31ºc yesterday in the CBD.

Here’s some snaps from around the ground today!

Fans have been running and ducking for cover around Melbourne Park all afternoon as it seems this torrential weather is showing no sign of slowing down.

Play on the outdoor courts has also been suspended until after 5pm but the weather is unfortunately showing no signs of relenting this afternoon with rain pouring down on the show courts outside.

In fact, I understand that thousands of people around Melbourne have been left without power after the unexpected storm caused flash flooding around the city.

Cars across Victoria have been caught up in floods and some train services have now been cancelled due to the insane conditions.

Approximately 25mm of rain have fallen in the last four hours after the heavy storm.

The Bureau of Meteorology, Vicotria has issued a severe weather warning to parts of the city with thunderstorms now sweeping their way through Melbourne, heading east towards the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges.

Welcome to the opening day of the 2025 Australian Open!

It’s been a very wet and stormy day here in Australia. We’ve seen all four seasons today at Melbourne Park and the rain has just not stopped!

Thunder and lightning have rolled in too and the city skyline was engulfed in dark grey clouds earlier this afternoon.

We’ve been blessed with balmy temperatures this week with it getting up to 31ºc yesterday in the city centre.

But with 25mm of rain falling over the last four hours, not much tennis is going on on the outdoor courts right now, and having just been soaked on my journey over to the media centre, it looks like not much tennis is going to be played this week!

But that’s not stopping the party! Fans around Melbourne Park are still revelling in the atmosphere and boy have we got a lot of tennis coming up this afternoon.

Stay tuned as we’ll be bringing you all the latest news, updates and quirky stories from around Melbourne Park.

This has been an incredible game of tennis already.

With Pouille trailing by two games, he remarkably saves three set points just as Zverev was smelling blood.

The German couldn’t make good his advances, with Pouille, who is ranked No 104 on the ATP Tour scrambling across the court on two occasions to just about knock the ball back past Zverev on the right tram line to save the game.

The World No 2 returns to serve, and again Pouille saves another break point, but his efforts are in vein, with the Frenchman conceding the first set 6-4.